EFFECTS OF PREFERENTIAL TRADE.
..(To the Editor.) Sir, —The reply of John Johnson to my enquiries on the influence of duties seems to have been penned under some misapprehension. If he will read it again he will see that they were directed to the criticisms and comments on the Premiers' Conference, and their strenuous advocacy of preferential duties for Britain. However, it is gratifying to find that J.J. clearly perceives that "the standard of living enjoyed by the working classes of any country does not so much depend on the amount levied in rates and taxe9 as upon the productivity of labour." I may therefore repeat my query in this form: It taxes are levied on raw material as well as upon food, will not that inevitably increase the cost of production, and consequently necessitate less wages for the worker and diminished business for the manufacturer who has to compete in the markets of the world?" The productivity of labour would therefore be diminished in proportion to the rate 3 and taxes levied. I am quite unable to follow his statement, that if taxes were levied proportionately on all raw material, then all trades would go on as before, etc. Perhaps he will put bis thoughts in a clearer way.—Yours, etc., W&
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Bibliographic details
Auckland Star, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 171, 19 July 1907, Page 3
Word Count
212EFFECTS OF PREFERENTIAL TRADE. Auckland Star, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 171, 19 July 1907, Page 3
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